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Limits of magic (Lorica)
Impossible as of Chronicle Well, despite the Lorica motto, not everything is possible. There are a few, but only a few, types of magic that are impossible - at the time of the Chronicle. These are the magia desposiblau (Impossible magic). All of them involve apparent paradoxes. Later on, the rest of these become possible as well. Going into / changing the past Retromancy is not yet invented at the time of the Chronicle, so there is no actual going into the past. After all, going into the past disrupts the normal, real continuum since events that occur because of going into the past alter what the present is like, which may cause the going into the past never to occur. However, going into the past ethereally (sensing all but not physically affecting anything) is possible to times after the advent of Loricae because the worldspell records all that happens in time from thence onward. Going into / changing the future Going into the future also isn't invented at that time, but Loricae can serve to extrapolate what the future may become. It is incredibly ineffective because the worldspell doesn't have perfect intelligence nor perfect knowledge. It is almost totally off with regards to people's thoughts and plans. It may be useful for general-scale uses such as predicting the weather. Such as in the weather case, it is possible to understand parts of the future without experiencing it "in spirit". Sentience outside of human form One is able to become something else, like an animal or plant. However, as an animal or plant one cannot be sentient the same way a human can be. Hence, it becomes impossible to turn back into human form, unless a charm has been predetermined to change one back without the need for any kind of signal. An alternative option is to gain control over another living being, but that of course would not be truly experiencing life from another species' point of view. In the latter days magic can give people who have transformed into animals an "unnatural" sense of self to keep their humanity at least mentally. Rejuvenation / immortality Rejuvenation and immortality are two ways of looking at the same thing. It is not possible at the time of Chronicle, whether it be putting a stopper on death or making oneself young again. Even the emperor dies with age, making phrases like "long live the emperor" comfort-only phrases. In the latter days this finally becomes possible, but it is incredibly difficult and slow research. There are however lesser bodily regeneration, healing and cleansing (disease-curing, poison-curing) hexes available. Ressurection Death is meaningful. Hence, a great way of putting a stopper on secrets that must not be let out is via assassination. Battles too become meaningful. However, the definition of death is quite a while past one being slain since there are spells that can, for example, reconnect a broken neck and thus bring a person back to life as long as he/she is not "too far gone". This is also known as "too far gone" or "gone past the gates of death". Those who still have a chance at pseudo-ressurection are "warm corpses" or "the warm dead", as opposed to those who are too far gone, the "cold corpses" or "the cold dead". Generally, one who dies of certain symptoms of old age, most notably cancer, deteriorate to cold death no matter how many times people attempt to revive them. Although associated with the gore and bane of reviving ghosts and undead, the correct term for full flesh-and-blood, brand-as-new ressurection is necromancy. Penetrating the mind Truly penetrating the mind or rewriting it - psychemancy - is not possible at this stage, because of the vast complexity of the mind. This ensures that there is a at least a fighting chance for secrets to be kept from prying minds, and also makes a host of other actions, such as torture and enticements, meaningful. Lorican magic at this point does have a couple of lesser substitutes for full psychemancy that generally require knowledge of psychology and external bodily signs, such as perspiration, stealing glances, and twiddling. There is certainly a spell for determining if someone is anxious, but of course anyone indulging in illicit activities is also adept at either fooling the spell or explaining away their anxiety on something else. Magically inert materials The three royal (or noble) metals, silver (Ag), gold (Au), and platinum (Pt), are magically inert. No known species of stars exist within them. This means that there are no known magical spells that can create, delete, or modify them or anything they are alloyed or dissolved in to any extent. This means: *They can't be deleted. They can't be teleported. Any attempt to teleport one holding them causes them to fall to the ground. However, the wind can be used to "airlift" them anywhere. *Spells do not recognize them as what they are, only that they are magically inert. *Magic can't go through them or affect them. A golden shield can't be made to vanish from a spell, a silver arrow is unstoppable by magical means, a golden sword cannot be disarmed, etc. *They hold their value and can't be counterfeited. Silver is used as currency; gold is a symbol of royalty. *These metals can be alloyed into prison walls and windows to prevent magical means of escape because transport magic can't go through. *Aqua regia (here meaning water + a dissolved royal metal) is a potion that can for several hours prevent any who drink from it or are injected with it from teleporting because the metal particles are mixed with their body and/or bloodstream, as well as strips them of self-cast and passive magic (such as instantiae incanta and reginylgynae), thereby leaving them very vulnerable. Truly impossible And now, for the true magia desposiblau, rules which cannot be broken no matter what because breaking them causes the world to no longer make any reasonable sense. Paradox creation Magic can't be used to create paradoxes. Plain and simple. For example, if one Trespasses through a wall (walking into the wall), without touching or harming the wall in the process, one cannot de-Trespass while still partially superimposed over the wall. Changing the current reality One can go back into the past, but any changes caused will basically be performed onto an alternate reality, with the time traveler in that alternate reality. There will always be a current reality (the originating reality) that continues on without the time traveler being able to affect it, and the originating reality serves as an anchor for the alternate reality's existence. Hence, if one person time travels, onlookers will continue to live life as if all were normal. Once one has gone back into the past, the time traveler will be stuck in the alternate reality, which may or may not be entirely different from the originating reality. If the time traveler makes significant changes, he/she will never be able to go back. Fundamentally changing nature The rules of nature / rules of physics cannot change. Of course, magic is all about ways of getting around this problem by manipulating the world in ways such as to appear as if the rules of nature are broken. However, they are not. If there is no way of manipulating the world in the method desired, no amount of will can grant you the way. This of course also includes the law of action and consequence and the law of reason. Traversing Asset / Tessa Atoms can only exist in the material world (the Asset) no matter what. Stars can only exist in the arcane world (the Tessa) no matter what. No spell can cause them to jump over to the other side, but both may be affected by the other side because after all they exist in the same reality. Freezing time If time were frozen, it can only be because something was keeping time from moving on. In which case there would always be such a preventive spell in place, and time would never move on. If one were to attempt to activate such a spell, time would stop just at the point between non-frozen and frozen time, which means that time was never frozen. Thus freezing time is impossible. Category:Technology